PBS has a new astronomy show out called ‘Seeing in the Dark’, by Timothy Ferris. The first showing has come and gone, but I am certain repeats will be available soon enough. Meanwhile, they have a really interesting website set up with lots of tasty astronomy goodness. Go and spelunk this site and learn more about the stars!

Seeing in the Dark with PBS

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If you are even lightly interested in the well-being of our natural environment, then you already knew the Bush administration was entering office with a non-nature friendly agenda, back in 2001. Well, many of our worst imaginings have come true. He has placed industry shills to head most of the federal regulatory departments, and it shows. These people worked for industry before they were charged to act in a neutral way to represent the federal government agencies such as the EPA, and they will go back to industry when their terms have ended. Meanwhile, they do all they can to destroy the protections that hard science has put in place over many decades, sometimes even rewriting or censuring scientific reports, even though they themselves have no scientific credentials. Read on for some excellent coverage on the topic.

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Scientists have been grappling with why frogs seem to have begun exhibiting many more deformities in the past few decades than normal. Some human factor was guessed at being the likely cause, but the full explanation has eluded biologists, possibly until now. It looks like a common culprit, nutrient runoff from farms, is yet again at the heart of one of our modern biological woes. Read on.

• Frog Deformities

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